I've been obsessed with electric vehicles lately. I recently learned of one that might interest the GRM set.
A Nissan Leaf powered, street-driven, CRX with a completely diy motor control system. It has dyno'd at 302hp and run 12 second quarters.
You'll need an electrical engineering degree to understand much of the controller build specifics, but the dyno run videos are on page 15 of this thread and the drag runs on pg 16.
The future is going to be awesome! 
That is pretty cool. A lot of it is way over my head but he could definitely learn a thing or two about drag racing from some of us ICE dinosaurs. That 'tirespin' was all about suspension. The tires can definitely hook more if the suspension and weight distribution are rejiggered a bit. If he's not trying to turn, just moving more of the weight up front would help. Limiting the extreme weight transfer it's doing would be the other biggie.
Awesome. Will read, thanks for the link!
Impressive however most fast/race electrics that I've seen have no price advantage over a comparable ICE race car.
In reply to drainoil:
They cost less to refuel. 
MrJoshua wrote: In reply to drainoil: They cost less to refuel.
Lol true. Don't get me wrong I love the concept of going fast with electricity. When we had our Ford C-Max hybrid I wondered what kind of wizardry could make that car quick/fast.
Maybe there is a way to go fast comparably priced or cheaper than an ICE, but so far I have not seen it. Hopefully with time, interest and more involvement it will?
drainoil wrote: Impressive however most fast/race electrics that I've seen have no price advantage over a comparable ICE race car.
The earliest cars didn't have a cost advantage over a good horse, either.
I dig it. We're the types of people that modify anything with wheels and power, so eletric vs. gas shouldn't matter.
I'd like a 'tune' for the Volt and a re-gen hack so I can brake harder and bring the car to a stop.
That is cool that they were able to use the leaf stuff. I have looked at using smart EV components but there isn't a control that works with their proprietary motors
I wonder how badly this thing rolls in a corner? Can it even make it to said corner? Let's see him drive to the strip, haul ass down the 1320, and then drive home before dinner.
drainoil wrote: Impressive however most fast/race electrics that I've seen have no price advantage over a comparable ICE race car.
less engine rebuilding?
Battery cooling has replaced motor rebuilding.
In reply to Trackmouse:
If I read the thread right, he drove it to the drags that day, and drove it home...
drainoil wrote: Impressive however most fast/race electrics that I've seen have no price advantage over a comparable ICE race car.
Why do they need to be cheaper?
problemaddict wrote: In reply to Trackmouse: If I read the thread right, he drove it to the drags that day, and drove it home...
...and the modifications are mostly centered around making it electric powered not a drag car. It should corner pretty much like any old CRX (pretty well).
I was at an Autocross at Deanza College in the late 90's and saw an electric car smoke everyone FTOD.
With a motor on all 4 wheels and some fancy electronics it ran at an unbelievable pace!
And with lead acid batteries! This was before LiPo's. I can't imagine what it would be like today with modern battery technology!
I don't have to include the cost of fuel in a challenge build, what about the cost of batteries... 
In reply to bentwrench:
Was that the White Zombie?
singleslammer wrote: I don't have to include the cost of fuel in a challenge build, what about the cost of batteries...
Lol-I wish. . I think the equivalent would be you don't have to include the cost of the charge.
SVreX wrote: In reply to bentwrench: Was that the White Zombie?
If it wasn't nicknamed the Electric Head then I will be sorely disappointed.
SVreX wrote: In reply to bentwrench: Was that the White Zombie?
No, john's white zombie is a Datsun b210. I've rode in it. Pretty awesome ride.
In reply to Trackmouse:
I am aware the Zombie is a Datsun. It's actually a 1972 B110 (aka 1200), not a B210. B210 didn't come out until 1973.
I was asking bentwtench if the car he saw in the '90's was the White Zombie.
Impressive! Those Leaf powertrains will be cheap and plentiful in junkyards before anything else. The motor and diff housing are one unit though, so it would need a longer final drive for performance use. This guy was technically doing a huge overrev at the end of every drag run. Mind you the recommended max RPM on an EV motor is usually set based on heat production/bearing life and efficiency rather than the point at which the rotor will blow up, but he's pushed it to nearly 150%...he could end up finding out where the rotor does blow up.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
The motor and diff (single gear reduction transmission?) do separate cleanly (no shared bearings, etc). The motor is begging to be hooked up to a nice transmission with a few gears. The effective power/RPM range isn't that drastically different than an ICE so gears still help.
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